The Truku traditionally rely on hunting and gathering their food, and “taking what the mountains give” is a faithful description of the Truku eating culture. This culture of taking what the mountains give provide the Truku with traditional staple foods of millet, corn, sweet potatoes and yams, and meat-wise, their catch often consist of mountain hogs, Formosan Reeve’s muntjac deer, goats, monkeys, and flying squirrels. Traditional dishes commonly seen at festivals and ceremonies include specialties such as bamboo rice and banana rice. In addition, the mountains abound in wild vegetables like bird’s nest fern, vegetable fern, garland chrysanthemum, slender amaranth and so on, which are all part of the Truku people’s rich diet.

In modern society, aboriginal specialties and game are no longer available only to aborigines themselves, but are on the one hand important elements in festivities and ritualistic ceremonies, and on the other, traditional delicacies that have gone from being daily meals to restaurant gourmet dishes. Through the personal experiences of and interviews conducted by the students of our club, we hope to bring to our readers the “Truku traditional foods” that used to be available only on special events, and help more people to learn about the origins of Truku cuisine.

The purpose of this research project is to help preserve the ways in which Truku dishes are prepared and their original recipes and flavors, so that Truku cuisine does not become lost over time. We hope that efforts in promoting Truku cuisine online as part of our participation in the Cyberfair project will contribute towards preserving traditional Truku culture.